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Lance Armstrong admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. Saying they were his decisions and his mistake, Armstrong said he couldn't have won the race seven times without the drugs. Armstrong answered "yes" when asked if he utilized EPO, blood doping and transfusions, testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone, saying he did it in all seven of his Tour wins.

Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini has received a strong endorsement from new athletic director Shawn Eichorst. Eichorst said in an interview with The Associated Press that he admires how Pelini runs the Cornhuskers' program and that he believes Pelini is on track to end a conference-championship drought that dates to 1999. The Huskers were 10-4 this past season, finishing with a 39-point loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and a 14-point loss to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl. Eichorst said even though the season ended in disappointment, Nebraska is "not far away" from a Big Ten title. Eichorst called Pelini "an excellent coach, character-based, fundamentally sound."

Local Schedule: Nfk High at Omaha Burke (BBB-7:15); Nfk Cath at Wahoo High (G&B BB-6:15); Clarkson/Leigh at LHNE (G&B BB-6:15); North Platte CC at NECC (WBB-5:00).

This Evening: The Norfolk High boys basketball team goes to Omaha Burke at 7:15. Pregame coverage at approximately 6:55 on Newstalk WJAG 105.9 FM & WJAG.com.

Kwifax:

Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application in 1931.

News Briefs:

Following a dry 2012 and what's shaping up to be a dry 2013, the question of water is a hot issue. The lack of precipitation in created a high demand among irrigators in 2012, and created conflict home owners and other businesses. The Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District Board of Directors drafted proposed amendments to the district's groundwater management area rules and regulations to modify the district's enforcement provisions. At the board's meeting yesterday, a standing-room-only crowd packed into Northeast Community College's Life-Long Learning Center to hear testimony from 37 district residents, which at times was very emotional. Others presented written testimony. Board chairman Rod Zessin says the biggest challenge is to be fair to everyone. The board will review all of the spoken and written testimony, will write a revised draft Monday, and present it at their regular meeting Thursday.

A Madison man accused of shooting a Norfolk man in front of a downtown Norfolk nightclub in November has been bound over to District Court for trial. A preliminary hearing was held Thursday in Madison County Court for 28-year-old Jordan Beehn. Beehn is charged with first-degree assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony in connection with the November 24th shooting of Alberta Zepeda-Florez. Zepeda-Florez was trying to break up a fight between Jessika Ruroede and Beehn’s wife, 25-year-old Kelly Beehn in front of Club Hollywood at 117 South 3rd Street in Norfolk.

More than 4,000 people attended the two-day Northeast Nebraska Farm and Equipment Show, held Wednesday and Thursday in the Chuck M. Pohlman Ag Complex at Northeast Community College. Large crowds attended educational seminars on estate planning, weather, groundwater management and land prices and cash rents. Other seminars on irrigation, managing during drought, impact of drought on soil fertility, no-till farming, smart phone applications, marketing and federal policy were also well-attended.

A national tax-policy expert is urging Nebraska lawmakers to move cautiously as they prepare for a possible overhaul of the state's tax system. University of Connecticut professor Richard Pomp told a group of Nebraska state senators yesterday that sudden, dramatic changes to tax policy could have unintended consequences. Republican Governor Dave Heineman unveiled plans this week to eliminate the state's individual and corporate income taxes.

Abortion foes will march through Lincoln tomorrow in the annual Nebraska Walk for Life. The event is a demonstration against Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion issued 40 years ago. Following a brief ceremony at the State Capitol, participants will walk down 14th Street to the University of Nebraka-Lincoln Student Union. Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, will give the keynote speech at the end of the walk.A Nebraska senator has introduced a bill that would require abortion clinics to link to a state website with live-action ultrasound images of fetuses. Senator Bob Krist of Omaha proposed legislation yesterday that would require the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to post the videos on its website.

Today's Tickler:

I retired three years ago. The biggest problem is to keep the boss from finding out.